Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed

Mentioning that night she got drunk, Leda touched her nose with a hint of embarrassment.

"It was all my mom's fault, insisting I attend this so-called youth mixer. It was basically a speed dating dinner in disguise."

The young men and women were like items on display, laid out for selection.

Nola was great in every way, except for being a bit of a worrywart.

Going on about how 'unequal matches never work out' and 'love can't survive on empty pockets,' blah blah blah...

Leda was over it.

After the last visit home, she laid down the law with Nola: she could consider matches of similar social standing, but the final choice was hers to make.

In return, Nola had to swear off arranging any more blind dates or mixers behind her back.

Roseanne: "Choose for yourself?"

"Yeah, as long as the guy's family isn't broke, my mom's cool with it. Easy, I'll just pick from our circle!"

"You're really going to pick?"

Roseanne blinked.

but to find one among these men who would dote on her, pamper her, and treat her like a

of pride. We're all from influential families; why should I,

voice, "I have to choose, or I can't face my mom. But I'm not picking a

being pushed into marriage. Since none of us want to follow our families' plans, why not team up?" ""How

show in public, pretend we're together, and then do our own

their backs without the constant nagging, while still enjoying their freedom on the side. A win-win. Roseanne still urged her to think it through,

I know what I'm

were finishing up, Roseanne seized the moment when Leda went to the restroom to pay

out, Leda pouted, "I said it was

bill every time. I'm not broke,

"Right, my little heiress."

reached out

pinch, it hurts. Keep your hands to yourself in public, it's not

laughed their way through the lobby, heading

a moment,

made them both halt and instinctively look in the direction

group emerged from an upstairs private room, mostly middle-aged some with streaks of gray, neady all dressed in

the center

contrast to the surrounding crowd of middle-aged